Paraguay to Poughkeepsie: Students return from JYA

Nate Kimball Staff Writer

After returning from Junior Year Abroad (JYA) adventures, students gathered in Jewett House on Feb. 3 to present photos and stories of their travels. The event provided a glimpse of what to expect for freshmen and sophomores planning to go JYA.

Moving from the Vassar bubble to a different culture entirely is sometimes challenging. Julie Zelermyer ’07 said of her trip to Italy that many people were “predjudiced, and stereotyped Americans.” On the flip side, she had “hands-on architecture classes in Florence, something that you would not find at Vassar.”

These mixed experiences seem to tell the story for many JYA students.

Anna Will ’07 lived in a small Australian town while researching flora and fauna in a Rainforest Research center and exploring the Great Barrier Reef.

“Everyone was very friendly, and I couldn’t have gotten this experience at home or at Vassar,” said Will. “I have a greater interest in biological research now.”

Khadijah Barnett ’07 also traveled to Australia and studied outside of Sydney at the University of New South Wales. As an Economics major, Barnett commented that she missed the quality of teaching at Vassar, but liked being able to take professional courses, such as marketing.

Some students, instead of participating in a JYA program, decided to take some time off. Dan Halainen ’07 worked as a kindergarten teacher in Qingdao, China for a semester. The experience made him decide to change his major from Italian to Chinese. Halainen commented, “It was very difficult to come back into the American culture.”

Halainen also had many adventures. Once he had to pose as a hose salesman in Qingdao when an American executive failed to show up to sign an agreement with a Chinese company. “They must have thought I was a very strange businessman,” said Halaimen. “I had long hair and a nose ring.”

The presentation provided diverse views on how one can spend time outside of Vassar. Pictures from Chile, France, Italy, China, Australia and many other countries inspired students to explore the possibilities Vassar offers. Many members of the Class of 2008 are currently working on applications to go abroad in the 2006-2007 academic year.

Freshmen who attended the event were also intrigued by the stories that JYA returners told. Diana Lu ’09 said of the event, “I liked the students who were able to find art in foreign places. I would like to do that on my junior year abroad.”